Barbara Walters Defends Woody Allen; Enrages Twitterverse

Barbara Walters is nothing if not loyal. The veteran journalist has a tough time believing that her ole chum Woody Allen could be responsible for the alleged monstrosity that has Hollywood buzzing.

Allen’s already frayed public image is once again reeling following allegations of sexual abuse from his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. Farrow, now 28, penned an open letter that was published in The New York Times Sunday. The piece renewed the claims she initially made in 1992, that she was repeatedly molested by Allen beginning at age seven.

“[W]hen I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me.”

Walters, however, seems skeptical of Farrow’s tale. Unfortunately for Babs, her loyalty to Woody has put her at the ire of an old-fashioned Twitter roasting — and at odds with View panelist Sherri Shepherd.

Tweeters expressed shock that Walters defended Allen, who has called claims that he assaulted Dylan “untrue and disgraceful.” In fact, Walters and Shepherd got into a heated exchange after Walters argued that Allen was “a loving father.” Sherri shot back, noting that Allen’s affair with and eventual marriage to Mia’s other daughter, Soon Yi Previn, demonstrates an attraction to younger women.

It wasn’t long before Barbara’s name was a trending topic on Twitter, igniting a torrent of angry tweets and video responses.